Vocabulary Archives

Marbotic Smart Letters

October 17, 2016Will James1

Marbotic Smart Letters is a great new toy and set of apps for small children to learn about letters, phonetics, and reading.

Daily #DadJoke for March 16, 2016

March 16, 2016Judd Schorr

So what if I don’t know what the word “apocalypse” means?

Word Nerd: Duel Identity

February 15, 2016February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie

In a recent conversation on Facebook, I saw someone discussing the current presidential campaign, in which he referred to the fact that Ted Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother is an American, and therefore Cruz has “duel citizenship.” Naturally a Word Nerd installment was called for. Dual and duel.

My Cussing Kid

January 28, 2016December 13, 2017Sarah James21

The other day, our soon-to-be three year old son called me a b*&#h when I asked him to eat his dinner.

Word Nerd: A Tint of Rogue

January 22, 2016February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie

Today we have another one of those word pairs that gets mixed up more often than one might expect, and the mix-up seems to only go one way. “Vogue” rhymes with “rogue” and both are spelled with the same ending, but nobody ever spells it “vouge.” I suspect people see “rouge” and read it as “rogue.”

Bring Back Obsolete Words

May 26, 2015Laura Grace Weldon1

Go ahead, experiment on your fellow humans. It’s for a good cause.

Word Nerd: Weary of Change

January 9, 2015February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie3

The New Year typically brings thoughts of change and new beginnings. Sometimes people look forward to these things, but sometimes they approach them with hesitation, and when they do, some of them use one of today’s words when they actually mean the other.

Word Nerd: I’m a Looser.

December 12, 2014February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie2

We’re back! And with three different illustrations this week. Here’s another one of those words that a lot of people get wrong simply because spellcheck doesn’t catch it, and it’s another of those in which the mistake typically only goes one way. People often write loose when they mean lose, but I’ve never seen anyone write lose when they meant loose.

Word Nerd: Formerly Formal

May 23, 2013February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie

Today we’re going to look at two words that aren’t spelled the same, and actually don’t sound the same unless you’re sloppy in your pronunciation. They have entirely different meanings, but the result of misusing one or the other can occasionally be comical. Formerly and formally.

Word Nerd: I Need My Space!

May 16, 2013February 19, 2021Jim MacQuarrie

It’s nothing. No, really, it’s nothing at all. But it’s amazing how a little nothing can make so much difference. I’m talking about space. Not the Final Frontier where nobody can hear you scream; I’m talking about a word space. The presence or absence of a single space can completely alter the meaning of a sentence, possibly even reversing it.

Losing or Re-adjusting My Vocabulary?

November 22, 2011GeekMom8

At a recent checkup, I was referred to a neurologist for what we hope/assume are benign migraines. My Doctor asked me a couple of preliminary questions, had I noticed anything other than the spots? I gave the response that I give these days, whenever words fail me, “Well I don’t have as many words in […]

YouTube Geek: Will it Rhyme?

August 23, 2011GeekMom

This week in YouTube geekery, the wordplay is the thing. While building the promised weekly music playlist, I discovered a veritable plethora of interesting people using their words in interesting ways. Not everyone rhymes, but that is one theme. And where rhythm and repeated phonemes fail, insight and clever storytelling carry the scene. The internet […]

YouTube Geek: Say the Right Words

August 3, 2011December 14, 2017GeekMom

If you’ve spent much time on YouTube lately, you’ve probably heard about VidCon, the great big vlogbrothers-organized convention for the amusement and edification of YouTubers that happened in Los Angeles last weekend. By all accounts, it was a smashing success, a rocking good time, and caused jealousy in the hearts of vloggers everywhere who were […]

Free Rice Expands Your Word Power and Feeds the Hungry

March 4, 2010Admin

Here at my house we’re in the midst of SAT season. This will be the second go-round for my oldest son, and among the areas that could use a little polishing up are vocabulary. Last year I helped him drill …

Pick Some Words Out of Little Pim’s Word Bag

February 2, 2010Jenny Bristol

Little Pim’s Word Bag When you’re learning a foreign language, it’s helpful to have frequent vocabulary reminders for words you have learned. To help with that, the creators of the Little Pim DVDs (which Jonathan and I reviewed recently) have …